CHAPTER 27: STALKING MISSION

"They weren’t with anyone, okay? You’re such a gossip, Calyx—for a grown man, seriously." Alpheus said irritably.

He then turned to Alfonso, who was smirking on the side. "And you, Alfonso—did you seriously not see anything besides what Calyx said?"

"Nope, bro." Alfonso replied with a laugh.

"So, who are they, Apheus?" he teased. "Your secret kids?"

Alpheus shot him another glare. "Tsk. Do I look like I already have kids?"

"Then who are they?" Alfonso pressed. "You were grinning like an idiot while looking at their pictures earlier."

Alpheus paused for a moment, trying to come up with the right words. "I’m their uncle."

"Uncle?" Dave chimed in. "So you’ve got more nieces and nephews? I thought you only had those two hyper ones who keep showing up here."

"No... I mean, I’m just their uncle—kind of. Not by blood," Alpheus explained, avoiding their eyes. "They’re the kids of a friend of mine."

"You have other friends besides us?" Calyx asked mockingly.

Alpheus shot him a sharp glare. "Correction—you’re not one of the friends I was referring to. I only have four real friends. And you’re not one of them because you’re so nosy!" he snapped.

"Ooohh..." the other two guys chimed in teasingly.

"Damn, that’s cold, bro," Calyx said, pretending to look hurt. "And since I’m not your friend, mind telling us who the dad of those kids in the photo is?"

"You really are the nosiest person I know," Alpheus muttered, visibly annoyed. "Just shut up and go back to scrolling through your phone or something. I’ve got work to do."

He turned away and pretended to flip through his files to change the subject and avoid any more questions.

Thankfully, the tactic worked—Calyx sulked back to his seat with a pout, while the other two just chuckled quietly.

But what Alpheus didn’t know was that Calyx was secretly hiding a sly grin. He had recognized someone in the photo—a woman who looked exactly like Sylvia, the waitress from the bar they had gone to the night before.

Knowing Alpheus, Calyx figured he wouldn’t get any real answers if he asked directly—especially not about Sylvia or her possible connection to the twins in the photo. So, instead of confronting him, Calyx decided to find out the truth in his own way.

-----

"Hey, Calyx, are you sure about what we’re doing right now?" Alfonso asked, keeping his eyes on the road as he drove.

They were currently tailing Alpheus’s car, not knowing exactly where he was headed.

It was already late afternoon, and the three of them hadn’t done anything productive at Alpheus’s office all day.

They had just eaten—courtesy of Alpheus, who paid for lunch—and lounged around in the comfort of his air-conditioned office. Meanwhile, Alpheus had spent the entire day pretending to work, buried in his files, though it was obvious he was just passing the time.

But by this hour, they noticed he suddenly seemed eager to leave. He tried not to make it obvious, but Calyx had a nose for these things.

The moment Alpheus started acting cagey, Calyx knew something was up.

He suspected that Alpheus was heading somewhere important—somewhere that might finally answer the questions swirling in his mind.

"I’m telling you, I’ve got a gut feeling he’s headed straight to the answers I’ve been looking for." Calyx said confidently, glancing at Alfonso with a smirk.

Alfonso chuckled at his friend’s persistence, while Dave—who had also tagged along for the ride—just shook his head.

All three of them were now trailing Alpheus, whose car was beginning to speed up on the road ahead.

"Bro, I think he noticed someone’s following him—he’s speeding up!" Alfonso said, his eyes widening as he pressed harder on the gas.

"Step on it, man! We’re about to lose sight of Alpheus’s car!" Calyx exclaimed in a panic, watching as the distance between them and Alpheus’s car continued to grow.

"I am stepping on it!" Alfonso snapped. But chasing someone like Alpheus—a former car racer—was never going to be easy.

Meanwhile, Dave, who had been quietly going along with their little stalking mission from the backseat, shook his head and leaned forward to tap Alfonso on the shoulder.

"Pull over. Let me drive."

Both Alfonso and Calyx turned to him, stunned.

Then Alfonso’s eyes lit up. "Holy crap, you’re right!"

Without wasting a second, he swerved to the side of the road and brought the car to a stop.

"Why the hell are we stopping?!" Calyx shouted.

"You idiot," Alfonso said, hopping out of the car. "There’s no way we’re catching up to Alpheus at this pace—unless Dave is the one driving. He’s the only one who can keep up with a fellow car racer!"

They didn’t waste another moment. The two quickly swapped seats, and Alfonso had barely settled into the back when Dave floored the gas.

The tires screeched as the car surged forward, slamming everyone back into their seats.

"Damn you, Dave! Damn you—could you slow down a little?!" Alfonso yelled, gripping the edge of the seat in terror while Dave just laughed, eyes locked firmly on the road ahead.

"Hahaha! We’re never catching up to Alpheus if we take it slow," Dave said with a grin. "So buckle up, guys—this is gonna be a long ride."

---

After a long ride...

"Damn it! I seriously thought I was going to die with the way you were driving, Dave! You maniac! I swear, I’m never letting you touch my steering wheel again, you bastard!"

Alfonso ranted nonstop, still gripping his seat tightly as they continued riding in his car.

Dave and Calyx, on the other hand, were laughing their heads off, completely entertained by how shaken Alfonso was. They found it hilarious to see him pale and weak from fear after witnessing his terrified reactions during Dave’s wild chase.

"HAHAHA! Dude, you were something else back there," Calyx said between laughs. "I swear, your screams every time we overtook one of those huge trucks? Priceless!"

"Assholes!" Alfonso muttered, shooting both of them a deadly glare.

"Relax, man," Dave said, still chuckling. "I’m slowing down now. We’re in a narrow street zone—just alleys from here on out."

"Anyway, nice car, Alfonso," Dave added with a teasing grin. "What a waste it would’ve been if we didn’t get to really put it to the test like this, huh?"

"Damn you! I’m not a reckless maniac like you!" Alfonso snapped, still rattled, arms crossed tightly as he sulked in his seat.